H1N1 Mortality Trend Is Reverse of Seasonal Flu

As H1N1 season progresses, there is growing evidence that H1N1 is a darker creature than initially hoped. In the link below is discussed recent CDC data showing how the death rates for H1N1 are the reverse of a typical seasonal flu. Usually, the elderly are most at risk and account for 90% of mortality. However, with H1N1, the elderly seem to have partial immune protection from H1N1, likely due to exposure many decades ago to a similar H1N1 virus.

What this means is that the mortality for H1N1 is hitting much stronger at younger age groups, most concernedly with pregnant women and children under 1. As CDC respiratory disease chief Anne Schuchat, MD, said at a news conference,

“Completely healthy pregnant women are coming down with horrible, horrible illnesses — and, tragically more deaths,” Schuchat said. “And some conditions like asthma which is well controlled. So even if you have diabetes that’s well controlled, if you have asthma that’s well controlled, we want to you think of yourself as a higher risk and recommend that you be vaccinated.”